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Thursday, July 9, 2015

Vatican City, 9 July 2015 (VIS) –
Pope Francis visit to Ecuador concluded yesterday with two events.
The first was his visit to the Missionaries of Charity rest home for
the elderly, located 21 kilometres from the capital Quito, and close
to the highway leading to the airport. The Holy Father was received
by the Superior, who accompanied him to the chapel in the Centre to
pray with the rest of the small community of ten brethren, and
subsequently greeted the residents, around seventy people, in the
courtyard. He did not pronounce a discourse, but simply expressed his
closeness to the elderly present.

The Pope then transferred to the
National Marian shrine of El Quinche, home of the wooden image of the
Virgin of El Quinche, carved at the end of the sixteenth century by
the artist Diego de Robles, and which in the second week of November
attracts more than 800,000 faithful who depart from the village of
Calderon on a nocturnal pilgrimage, reaching the church at dawn.

In El Quinche, the last of Pope
Francis' visits in Ecuador, he met with clergy, men and women
religious, and seminarians. He handed the discourse he had prepared
for the occasion (reproduced below) to Bishop Celmo Lazzari C.S.I.,
representative for consecrated life in the Ecuadorian Episcopal
Conference, and made some unscripted comments to those present,
highlighting the spiritual richness that he had encountered in
Ecuador and asking all to remember the importance of gratuity and
service in life.

“All this wealth you have –
spiritual wealth, piety, depth – comes from having had the courage,
as there have been some very difficult moments, to consecrate the
nation to the Heart of Christ”, said the Pope, “this divine and
human Heart that loves us so much. And afterwards, a few years later,
the consecration to the Heart of Mary. Do not forget: this
consecration is a milestone in the history of the people of Ecuador.

“Today I am to speak to the priests,
seminarians, women and men religious, and to say something to them. I
thought about the Virgin, I thought about Mary … Mary never took
centre stage. She was a disciple all through her life. The first
disciple of her Son. And she was aware that everything she had was
due to the pure gratuity of God. She was aware of this gratuity.
Therefore, men and women religious, priests, seminarians, in all the
days to come, take the path back to the gratuitousness with which God
chose you. … We are subject to God's gratuitousness. If we forget
this, slowly, we gradually move away from the basis from which Mary
never wavered: God's gratuitousness.

“A second thing I wanted to say to
you is to take care of your health, but most of all take care not to
fall into a sort of spiritual Alzheimer's: do not lose your memory,
especially the memory of where you are from. St. Paul intuited this
danger, and to his dearest son, the bishop Timothy, to whom he gave
pastoral counsel, he said: 'Do not forget the faith of your
grandmother and your mother'. That is, 'Do not forget where you come
from, do not forget your roots, do not feel as if you have been
promoted'. Gratuity is a grace that cannot co-exist with promotion
and, when a priest, a seminarian, a man or woman religious, embarks
upon a career – a human career – he or she begins to sicken with
spiritual Alzheimer's and begins to lose the memory of where he or
she is from”.

Francis suggested two basic principles
to the priests and consecrated persons. “Every day, renew the
feeling that everything is free, the feeling of the gratuity with
which each one of you was chosen – none of us deserved this – and
ask for the grace of not losing your memory, of not feeling more
important. And these two principles will revive two attitudes. First,
that of service. God chose me, but why? To serve … and there is
nothing else, to serve when we are tired, when people annoy us. …
An old priest, who was a genius all his life, said to me, 'the holy
faithful People of God are essentially Olympian, or rather, they do
what they want, and can be ontologically tiresome'. And this contains
much wisdom, as taking the path of service means allowing oneself to
be troubled without losing patience.

“Service, mixed with gratuity and
then … that of Jesus: 'Freely you have received; freely give'.
Please, please,” he repeated, “do not expect something in return;
please, let your ministry be freely given. And the second attitude …
is that of joy and cheer. And it is a gift from Jesus … that He
gives to us if we ask for it and if we do not forget these two
pillars of our priestly or religious life: the sense of gratuity and
not losing the memory of where we come from. May God Almighty, the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, bless you. And please, please, I
ask you to pray for me, as I am very often tempted to forget the
gratuity with which God chose me and of forgetting where I come from.
Pray for me”.

The following is the written discourse
the Pope gave to the bishop:

“I place at the feet of Our Lady of
Quinche the vivid experiences of my visit. I entrust to her heart the
elderly and the sick whom I visited in the house of the Sisters of
Charity, as well as the other meetings I have had. I entrust all of
them to Mary’s heart; but at the same time I commend them to the
hearts of each you, the priests, men and women religious, and
seminarians. As those called to labour in the vineyard of the Lord,
may you be protectors of all the experiences, the joys and sorrows of
the Ecuadorian people. I thank Bishop Lazzari, Father Mina and Sister
Sandoval for their words, which lead me to share some thoughts on our
common concern for God’s People.

“In the Gospel, the Lord invites us
to accept our mission without placing conditions. It is an important
message which we must never forget. Here, in this Sanctuary dedicated
to Our Lady of the Presentation, it resounds in a special way. Mary
is an example of discipleship for us who, like her, have received a
vocation. Her trusting response, 'Be it done unto me according to
your word', reminds us of her words at the wedding feast of Cana: 'Do
whatever he tells you'. Her example is an invitation to serve as she
served.

“In the Presentation of the Virgin we
find some suggestions for our own call. The child Mary was a gift
from God to her parents and to all her people who were looking for
liberation. This is something we see over and over again in the
Scriptures. God responds to the cry of his people, sending a little
child to bring salvation and to restore hope to elderly parents. The
word of God tells us that, in the history of Israel, judges, prophets
and kings are God’s gifts to his people, bringing them his
tenderness and mercy. They are signs of God’s gratuitousness. It is
he has chose them, who personally chose them and sent them. Realising
this helps us to move beyond our self-centredness and to understand
that we no longer belong to ourselves, that our vocation calls us to
let go of all selfishness, all seeking of material gain or emotional
rewards, as the Gospel has told us. We are not hired workers, but
servants. We have not come to be served, but to serve, and we do so
with complete detachment, without walking stick or bag.

“Some traditions about devotion to
Our Lady of Quinche relate that Diego de Robles made the image after
being commissioned by the indigenous Lumbici people. Diego did not do
this out of piety, but for economic benefit. Since the Lumbici were
unable to pay him, he brought the image to Oyacachi and exchanged it
for cedar planks. But Diego ignored their earnest plea that he also
make an altar for the image, until, after falling from his horse and
in danger of death, he felt the protection of the Virgin Mary. So he
went back to the town and built the foot of the image. All of us have
had the experience of a God who brings us to the cross, who calls us
in the midst of our faults and failings. May pride and worldliness
not make us forget what God has rescued us from! May the Our Lady of
Quinche make us leave behind ambition, selfish interests, and
excessive concern about ourselves!

“The 'authority' which the Apostles
receive from Jesus is not for their own benefit: our gifts are meant
to be used to renew and build up the Church. Do not refuse to share,
do not hesitate to give, do not be caught up in your own comforts,
but be like a spring which spills over and refreshes others,
especially those burdened by sin, disappointment and resentment.

“Something else that Our Lady’s
Presentation makes me think of is perseverance. In the evocative
iconography associated with this feast, the Child Mary is shown
moving away from her parents as she climbs the steps of the Temple.
Mary does not look back and, in a clear reference to the evangelical
admonition, she moves forward with determination. We, like the
disciples in the Gospel, also need to move forward as we bring to all
peoples and places the Good News of Jesus. Perseverance in mission is
not about going from house to house, looking for a place where we
will be more comfortably welcomed. It means casting our lot with
Jesus to the end. Some stories of the apparition of Our Lady of
Quinche speak of 'a woman with a child in her arms' who appeared on
several successive evenings to the natives of Oyacachi when they were
fleeing from attacks by bears. Mary kept appearing to her children,
but they didn’t believe her, they didn’t trust this woman, even
though they admired her perseverance in coming each evening at
sunset. To persevere even though we are rejected, despite the
darkness and growing uncertainty and dangers – this is what we are
called to do, in the knowledge that we are not alone, that God’s
Holy People walks with us.

“In some sense, the image of the
child Mary ascending the steps of the Temple reminds us of the
Church, which accompanies and supports every missionary disciple.
Mary is with her parents, who handed on to her the memory of the
faith and now generously offer her to the Lord so that she can follow
in his way. She is part of a community, represented by the 'maiden
companions' who escort her with lamps alight; in those companions the
Fathers of the Church saw a foreshadowing of all those who, in
imitation of Mary, seek wholeheartedly to become friends of God.
Finally, she is received by the waiting priests, who remind us that
the Church’s pastors must welcome everyone with tender love and
help to discern every spirit and every calling.

“So let us walk together, helping one
another, as we humbly implore the gift of perseverance in God’s
service. The apparition of Our Lady of Quinche was a moment of
encounter, of communion, so that this place which from Incan times
has been a place where people of various ethnicities have settled.
How beautiful it is when the Church perseveres in her efforts to be a
house and a school of communion, when we cultivate what I like to
call “the culture of encounter”! The image of Our Lady’s
Presentation tells us that, after being blessed by the priests, the
child Mary began to dance at the foot of the altar. I think of the
joy expressed in the imagery of the wedding feast, of the friend of
the bridegroom, of the bride bedecked with her jewels. It is the
happiness of all those who have discovered a treasure and left
everything behind in order to gain it. To find the Lord, to dwell in
his house, to share in his life, commits us to proclaiming his
Kingdom and bringing his salvation to all. Crossing the threshold of
the Temple means becoming, like Mary, temples of the Lord and setting
out to bring the good news to our brothers and sisters. Our Lady, as
the first missionary disciple, once she had received the message of
the angel, left with haste to a town of Judah to share this
incredible joy, which led St. John the Baptist to leap in his
mother’s womb. The one who hears the Lord’s voice 'leaps with
joy' and becomes for his or her own time a herald of his joy. The joy
of evangelisation leads the Church to go forth, like Mary.

“There are many reasons offered for
the translation of the shrine from Oyacachi to this place. There is
one which I find particularly convincing: 'for many people, this
place has always been easier to reach'. That was the idea of the
Archbishop of Quito, Fray Luis Lopez de Solis, when he ordered the
building of a shrine capable of attracting and embracing everyone. A
Church on the move is a Church which is close to people, overcoming
obstacles, leaving its own comfort behind and daring to reach out to
the peripheries which need the light of the Gospel.

“Let us now turn to the tasks which
await us, urged on by the holy people which God has entrusted to our
care. Among those tasks, let us not neglect to care for, encourage
and guide the popular devotions which are so powerfully felt in this
holy place and which are widespread in the countries of Latin
America. The faithful express the faith in their own language, and
they show their deepest feelings of sadness, uncertainty, joy,
failure, and thanksgiving in various devotions: processions, votive
lights, flowers, and hymns. All of these are beautiful expressions of
their faith in the Lord and their love for his Mother, who is also
our Mother.

“Here in Quinche, the story of God
and man converge in the life of one woman, Mary. They come together
in one home, our common home, our sister, mother earth. The
traditions of this devotion speak of cedar trees, bears, the crevasse
in the rock which here became the first home of the Mother of God.
They speak to us of a 'yesterday' when birds surrounded this place,
and of a 'today' of flowers which adorn its surroundings. The origins
of this devotion bring us back to a time of simple and 'serene
harmony with creation', when one could contemplate 'the Creator who
lives among us and surrounds us, whose presence ‘must not be
contrived but found, uncovered'. God’s presence is revealed in the
created world, in his beloved Son, and in the Eucharist which enables
each Christian to know him or her self as living members of the
Church and an active participant in her mission. And it is present in
Our Lady of Quinche, who from the first proclamation of the faith
until our own day has accompanied the indigenous peoples. To her we
entrust our vocation; may she make us a gift to our people; may she
grant us perseverance in our commitment and in the joy of going forth
to bring the Gospel of her Son Jesus, together with our shepherds, to
the fringes, the peripheries of our beloved Ecuador”.

Vatican City, 9 July 2015 (VIS) –
Pope Francis began the second leg of his trip in Latin America
yesterday, as he arrived at El Alto airport, the highest on the
planet, situated at more than four thousand metres above sea level,
in La Paz, Bolivia, where he was awaited by the president of the
Plurinational State of Bolivia, Evo Morales, the country's first
leader to come from the indigenous population (Wru-Aimara), whom the
Holy Father met in the Vatican during the First World Meeting of
Popular Movements, organised by the Pontifical Council “Justice and
Peace” in October 2014.

In his first discourse in Bolivia, the
Holy Father affirmed that he came “as a guest and a pilgrim … to
confirm the faith of those who believe in the Risen Christ, so that,
during our pilgrimage on earth, we believers may be witnesses of his
love, leaven for a better world and co-operators in the building of a
more just and fraternal society”. After thanking President Morales
for his “warm and fraternal welcome”, he greeted the religious
and civil authorities, adding, “I think in a special way of the
sons and daughters of this land who for a variety of reasons have had
to seek 'another land' to shelter them; another place where this
earth can allow them to be fruitful and find possibilities in life”.

The Pope also expressed his joy in
encountering a land of such singular beauty, as declared in the
preamble of its Constitution: “In ancient times the mountains
arose, rivers changed course and lakes were formed. Our Amazonia, our
wetlands and our highlands, and our plains and valleys were decked
with greenery and flowers”. “It makes me realise once again that
'rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to
be contemplated with gladness and praise'. But above all, Bolivia is
a land blessed in its people. It is home to a great cultural and
ethnic variety, which is at once a great source of enrichment and a
constant summons to mutual respect and dialogue. There are the
ancient aboriginal peoples and the more recent native peoples. The
Spanish language brought to this land now happily co-exists with
thirty-six native languages, which come together – like the red and
yellow in the national flowers of Kantuta and Patuju – to create
beauty and unity in diversity. In this land and people, the
proclamation of the Gospel took deep root, and through the years it
has continued to shed its light upon society, contributing to the
development of the nation and shaping its culture”.

“Bolivia is making important steps
towards including broad sectors in the country’s economic, social
and political life. Your constitution recognises the rights of
individuals, minorities and the natural environment, and provides for
institutions to promote them. To achieve these goals a spirit of
civic cooperation and dialogue is required, as well as the
participation of individuals and social groups in issues of interest
to everyone. The integral advancement of a nation demands an ever
greater appreciation of values by individuals and their growing
convergence with regard to common ideals to which all can work
together, no one being excluded or overlooked. A growth which is
merely material will always run the risk of creating new divisions,
of the wealth of some being built on the poverty of others. Hence, in
addition to institutional transparency, social unity requires efforts
to promote the education of citizens.

“In days to come, I would like to
encourage the vocation of Christ’s disciples to share the joy of
the Gospel, to be salt for the earth and light to the world. The
voice of the bishops, which must be prophetic, speaks to society in
the name of the Church, our Mother, from her preferential,
evangelical option for the poor. Fraternal charity, the living
expression of the new commandment of Jesus, is expressed in programs,
works and institutions which work for the integral development of the
person, as well as for the care and protection of those who are most
vulnerable. We cannot believe in God the Father without seeing a
brother or sister in every person, and we cannot follow Jesus without
giving our lives for those for whom he died on the cross.

The Pope also touched on the theme of
the family in his first discourse, emphasising that “in an age when
basic values are often neglected or distorted, the family merits
special attention on the part of those responsible for the common
good, since it is the basic cell of society. Families foster the
solid bonds of unity on which human coexistence is based, and,
through the bearing and education of children, they ensure the
renewal of society”.

He continued, “the Church also feels
a special concern for young people who, committed to their faith and
cherishing great ideals, are the promise of the future, 'watchmen to
proclaim the light of dawn and the new springtime of the Gospel'. To
care for children, and to help young people to embrace noble ideals,
is a guarantee of the future of society. A society discovers renewed
strength when it values, respects and cares for its elderly, when it
chooses to foster a 'culture of remembrance' capable of ensuring that
the elderly not only enjoy quality of life in their final years but
also affection, as your Constitution puts it so well”.

Addressing those present, he added, “in
these days we can look forward to moments of encounter, dialogue and
the celebration of faith. I am pleased to be here, in a country which
calls itself pacifist, a country which promotes the culture of peace
and the right to peace”.

Finally, he entrusted his visit to the
protection of the Blessed Virgin of Copacabana, Queen of Bolivia, and
concluded by exclaiming “Jallalla Bolivia!”, an Aimara word
meaning “life” and “hope”.

Vatican City, 9 July 2015 (VIS) –
During his trip from the El Alto airport to the archbishopìs
residence at La Paz, the Pope paused to bless the place where on 21
March 1980 the Spanish Jesuit Luis Espinal Camps, poet, journalist
and filmmaker, was assassinated. Fr. Espinal, who lived alongside the
families of miners during their struggle under the dictatorship of
Luis Garcia Meza, one of the bloodiest periods in Bolivia's history,
was arrested by paramilitaries, the armed wing of power, on 21 March
1980. His body was discovered the following day on the path to
Chacaltaya. His murder caused profound shock throughout the country
and his funeral, on 24 March in La Paz, was attended by multitudes.
In 2007 President Evo Morales declared 21 March “Bolivian Cinema
Day”, to commemorate the assassination of Fr. Espinal, in homage to
his struggle in favour of human rights and democracy and to
acknowledge his contribution to Bolivian cinematography.

Upon reaching the eighth kilometre of
the Chacaltaya highway, where a number of people were gathered, the
Holy Father left the car and said: “Good afternoon, dear sisters
and brothers. I stop here to greet you and, above all, to remember.
To remember a brother of ours, the victim of those who did not want
him to fight for freedom in Bolivia. Fr. Espinal preached the Gospel,
and this Gospel troubled them, so they eliminated him. Let us spend a
moment in silent prayer, and then let us pray together”.

After a moment's silence, the Pope
added, “May the Lord receive in His glory Fr. Luis Espinal, who
preached the Gospel, the Gospel that brings us freedom, that sets us
free. Like every child of God, Jesus brought us this freedom, and he
preached this Gospel. May Jesus keep him with Him. May the Lord grant
him eternal repose and may endless light shine for him. May he rest
in peace”.

“And to all of you, dear brothers,
May the Lord Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, bless
you. And please, I ask you, do not forget to pray for me. Thank you”.

Vatican City, 9 July 2015 (VIS) –
Pope Francis arrived at the archbishop's residence at La Paz,
surrounded by the thousands of people who followed him from the
airport to the Bolivian capital. Following a brief rest, the Holy
Father transferred by popemobile to the seat of the government where
he paid a courtesy visit to President Evo Morales, who introduced his
family and colleagues.

The Pope then walked from the
government building to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, an
imposing structure built in the mid-nineteenth century, whose facade
blends neo-Classical and Baroque elements and which is able to hold a
thousand people. There, he met with the civil authorities and the
Pope pronounced a discourse, published below, in which he focused on
the importance of an integral ecology, of the participation of all
social strata for the common good, and the family, reiterating the
need to “build bridges rather than erect walls”.

“I am pleased to meet you, the
political and civil authorities of Bolivia, the members of the
Diplomatic Corps and representatives of the nation’s cultural
institutions and volunteer organisations. I am grateful to Archbishop
Edmundo Abastoflor of La Paz for his kind welcome. With your
permission, I would like to offer a few words of encouragement in
support of your work.

“Each of us here shares a calling to
work for the common good. Fifty years ago, Vatican Council II defined
the common good as the sum of those conditions of social life which
allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough
and ready access to their own fulfilment. I thank you for striving –
in your work and your mission – to enable individuals and society
to develop and find fulfilment. I am certain that you seek what is
beautiful, true and good in your service of the common good. May your
efforts contribute to the growth of greater respect for the human
person, endowed with basic and inalienable rights ordered to his or
her integral development, and social peace, namely, the stability and
security provided by a certain order which cannot be achieved without
particular concern for distributive justice. Put simply, wealth is to
be distributed.

“On the way to this Cathedral I was
able to admire the peaks of Hayna Potosi, the 'young mountain', and
Illimani, the mountain which shows 'the place where the sun rises'. I
also saw the ingenious way in which many houses and neighbourhoods
blend with the hillsides, and was struck by the architecture of some
of these structures. The natural environment is closely related to
social, political and economic environment. It is urgent for all of
us to lay the foundations of an integral ecology, one capable of
respecting all these human dimensions in resolving the grave social
and environmental issues of our time. Otherwise, the glaciers of
those mountains will continue to recede, and our sense of gratitude
and responsibility with regard to these gifts, our concern for the
world we want to leave to future generations, for its meaning and
values, will melt just like those glaciers.

“Because everything is related, we
need one another. If politics is dominated by financial speculation,
or if the economy is ruled solely by a technocratic and utilitarian
paradigm concerned with maximum production, we will not grasp, much
less resolve, the great problems of humanity. Cultural life has an
important role to play in this regard, for it has to do not only with
the development of the mind through the sciences and the creation of
beauty through the arts, but also esteem for the local traditions of
a people, which are so expressive of the milieu in which they arose
and to which they give meaning. There is also need for an ethical and
moral education which can cultivate solidarity and shared
responsibility between individuals. We should acknowledge the
specific role of the religions in the development of culture and the
benefits which can they can bring to society. Christians in
particular, as disciples of the Good News, are bearers of a message
of salvation which has the ability to ennoble and to inspire great
ideals. In this way it leads to ways of acting which transcend
individual interest, readiness to make sacrifices for the sake of
others, sobriety and other virtues which develop in us the ability to
live as one. These virtues are expressed very simply in your culture
as three commandments: do not lie, do not steal, and do not be lazy.

“It is so easy for us to become
accustomed to the atmosphere of inequality all around us, with the
result that we take it for granted. Without even being conscious of
it, we confuse the 'common good' with 'prosperity', especially when
we are the ones who enjoy that prosperity. Prosperity understood only
in terms of material wealth has a tendency to become selfish, to
defend private interests, to be unconcerned about others, and to give
free rein to consumerism. Understood in this way, prosperity, instead
of helping, breeds conflict and social disintegration; as it becomes
more prevalent, it opens the door to the evil of corruption, which
brings so much discouragement and damage in its wake. The common
good, on the other hand, is much more than the sum of individual
interests. It moves from 'what is best for me' to 'what is best for
everyone'. It embraces everything which brings a people together:
common purpose, shared values, ideas which help us to look beyond our
limited individual horizons.

“Different social groups have a
responsibility to work for unity and the development of society.
Freedom is always the best environment for thinkers, civic
associations and the communications media to carry out their
activities with passion and creativity in service of the common good.
Christians too, are called to be a leaven within society, to bring it
their message. The light of Christ’s Gospel is not the property of
the Church; the Church is at the service of the Gospel, so that it
can reach the ends of the earth. Faith is a light which does not
blind or confuse, but one which illuminates and respectfully guides
the consciences and history of every person and society. Christianity
has played an important role in shaping the identity of the Bolivian
people. Religious freedom – a phrase we often encounter in civil
discourse – also reminds us that faith cannot be restricted to a
purely subjective experience. It also challenges us to help foster
the growth of spirituality and Christian commitment in social
projects.

“Among the various social groups, I
would like to mention in particular the family, which is everywhere
threatened by domestic violence, alcoholism, sexism, drug addiction,
unemployment, urban unrest, the abandonment of the elderly, and
children left to the streets. These problems often meet with
pseudo-solutions which show the clear effects of an ideological
colonisation. ... So many social problems are quietly resolved in the
family; the failure to assist families would leave those who are most
vulnerable without protection.

“A nation which seeks the common good
cannot be closed in on itself; societies are strengthened by networks
of relationships. The current problem of immigration makes this
clear. These days it is essential to improve diplomatic relations
between the countries of the region, in order to avoid conflicts
between sister peoples and to advance frank and open dialogue about
their problems. Instead of raising walls, we need to be building
bridges. All these issues, thorny as they may be, can find solutions
which are shared, reasonable, equitable and lasting. And in any
event, they should never be a cause for aggressivity, resentment or
enmity; these only worsen situations and stand in the way of their
resolution.

“Bolivia is at an historic
crossroads: politics, the world of culture, the religions are all
part of this beautiful challenge to grow in unity. In this land whose
history has been marred by exploitation, greed and so many forms of
selfishness and sectarianism, now is the time for integration. Today
Bolivia can 'create new forms of cultural synthesis'. How beautiful
are those cities which overcome paralysing mistrust, integrate those
who are different and make this very integration a new factor of
development! How attractive it is when those cities are full of
spaces which connect, relate and favour the recognition of others!'.
Bolivia in its process of integration and its search for unity, is
called to be an example of such 'multifaceted and inviting harmony'.

“I thank you for your attention. I
pray to the Lord that Bolivia, 'this innocent and beautiful land”,
may make ever greater progress towards being 'the happy homeland
whose people enjoy the blessings of good fortune and peace'. May the
Blessed Virgin watch over you, and the Lord bless you abundantly.
Please remember me in your prayers. Thank you”.

The Pope then returned to El Alto
airport, to continue his trip in Santa Cruz de la Sierra where today,
9 July, he will preside at the Holy Mass for the opening of the Fifth
National Eucharistic Council, meet with priests, religious and
seminarians, and give an address to conclude the Second World Meeting
of Popular Movements.

Vatican City, 9 July 2015 (VIS) – The
Holy Father has appointed Fr. Simon Poh Hoon Seng as auxiliary of the
archdiocese of Kuching (area 19,173, population 1,216,000, Catholics
192,569, priests 37, religious 82), Malaysia. The bishop-elect was
born in Sri Aman, Malaysia in 1963 and was ordained a priest in 1988.
He holds a licentiate in missiology from the Pontifical Urbanian
University, Rome, and has served in a number of roles in the
archdiocese of Kuching, including parish vicar, parish priest,
director of the Commission for Vocations and spiritual counsellor for
the Commission for Youth. He is currently chancellor of the
archdiocese and member of the college of consultors, lecturer in
missiology and spiritual director of the St. Peter's College major
seminary in Kuching, coordinator of the archdiocesan commission
“Mission and Evangelisation”, coordinator of the Human
Development Commission, and parish priest of the Cathedral of
Kuching.